11-10-2014, 11:57 AM
I had selected my only RM tiedye from summer tour '94 because that was a pivotal year for Phish, when they first stepped up to big venues. Unfortunately it was blue, blue and purple, which was an embarrassing choice for game 5 of the world series. Civic center was a buzz. I checked out the Asian art, and grabbed lunch at Ananda Fuara, enjoying their delightful ham&cheese sammich, which probably tastes nothing like a real ham&cheese but it's been so long for me that I can no longer tell. I was seated at a table with a gorgeous woman, the spitting image of Charlize Theron with piercing snow-capped blue eyes and her gay hipster friend, and eavesdropped as the two of them discussed their cosmic views of the universe - it was very SF. Then I stumbled about my old haunts on Market, searching for my fav military surplus store (now closed) and hoping to find an enabler for a beer. I gave up on that and tucked into a little bar where Marley was playing for a quick pint. Two cute bartenders started working me for old Phish tales as soon as they learned I was there for the show, surely getting me to drink more, and it worked. By the time it was showtime, I was 4 pints deep. Maybe 5. I decided I would assign myself the task of reporting how the game was going on RM's radio channel, but abandoned that shortly after the 2nd inning as that was the night of that brutal shutout.
Of the show, I have little to report. I stayed way clear of RM (it was a quieter night and they didn't need me), spending most of my time at table service which has been relocated to a niche at the back of the house where there is a view of the stage when the doors are open. I reunited with a lot of old Phish head friends, including a grower that followed up with me later (cleverly acquiring my home phone number which I almost never use), trying to get me to teach him qigong for trade. I was flattered but I stopped teaching a decade and a half ago and while his trade would be bountiful, I already get kicked down more than I can use as tribute. I also got in this long discussion with a visiting psych doc who does similar work in Europe at trance/edm festivals. He claimed to run BOOM, which is a large one in Portugal, and said if I ever got over there, he could take full care of me. I might follow up on that just for research sake. So I really have little to report on that night beyond that it was phun.
Of the show, I have little to report. I stayed way clear of RM (it was a quieter night and they didn't need me), spending most of my time at table service which has been relocated to a niche at the back of the house where there is a view of the stage when the doors are open. I reunited with a lot of old Phish head friends, including a grower that followed up with me later (cleverly acquiring my home phone number which I almost never use), trying to get me to teach him qigong for trade. I was flattered but I stopped teaching a decade and a half ago and while his trade would be bountiful, I already get kicked down more than I can use as tribute. I also got in this long discussion with a visiting psych doc who does similar work in Europe at trance/edm festivals. He claimed to run BOOM, which is a large one in Portugal, and said if I ever got over there, he could take full care of me. I might follow up on that just for research sake. So I really have little to report on that night beyond that it was phun.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse